Pennsylvania Scrapple

Pennsylvania Scrapple, also known as Pennsylvania Dutch Scrapple or Philadelphia Scrapple, is a delicious pork dish that was created by German settlers in Eastern Pennsylvania. The word scrapple comes from “scraps” which is the definition for leftover bits of food and pieces of animal fat or cracklings. The original Pennsylvania Deutsche (name changed in time to Pennsylvania Dutch) immigrants were hard working people that used less noble parts of a butchered pig (pork skins, jowls, snouts, ears, heart, tongue, brains, kidneys, head meat, liver, pork bones, some claim that pork neck bones are the best) to make scrapple. Those leftover meats were used for making original scrapple though today’s recipes often call for parts like loin or picnic. Originally buckwheat was an essential part of the recipe although many of today’s recipes call for a mixture of cornmeal and buckwheat half and half.